ALL CONTENT ON THIS SITE IS COPYRIGHTED BY MARK LECUONA AKA THE SUBURBAN POET. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. EVERYTHING WRITTEN IS ORIGINAL.
I have been writing now for several years. The day after the death of Amy Winehouse, I read a quote attributed to her: "As a writer, your self-worth is literally based on the last thing you wrote." This is exactly how I feel and I find myself now waiting, impatiently for the next thing to write about. Always.
One thing about me... I hate arrogance. If I have any obsession it's to challenge dogma that is delivered in an uncivil or close-minded manner. I will call anyone out on it even if I agree with their basic premise. Because of this you might be a bit confused as to what it is I really believe.
I think I should have called myself "The Five Minute Poet" because I typically write very quickly. What you get from me is what I think and I don't agonize over it. It's there and you see it here. I read a hub by Wayseeker where he discussed how 90% of what we write is probably not worthy but I think what I write is what it is and I do not have the patience or the wherewithal to turn anything I do into a project. I just speak in stream of consciousness form and that is my challenge.
[Please note that the following sections contain references to some of my hubs that at one time were links; Hubpages has changed some things and I haven't had the time to re-edit so unfortunately if any of these high-lighted hubs are of interest to you, it may require some digging on my site to find them. Sorry.]
The following piece (which has been a featured article on Hubpages) is how I think and as you can see I very cleverly called it "How I Think":
How I Think
I'm your classic left AND right brainer. So if I appear to be moody or all over the place then I've warned you.
I started out with prose/poetry but I've decided to start a series of hubs about accounting basics as I am a CPA (my dreaded day job). These hubs will target non-financial types (meaning you don't typically work with numbers) and I will attempt to simplify something that is boring and at times difficult to understand. Part one is here:
Financial Statements
If you don't like that stuff then try my poetry/prose which are Simply written; deeply felt; straight and without pretension (being something that I am not) - that's how I would describe my style... Twilight Lawns has described my genre as "emotive prose" and I think that's the best description of what I do naturally. I write in a conversational pattern that somewhat matches how I speak in a serious one-on-one conversation. I try at times to be as idealistic and naive as John Lennon could be. I also try to achieve an intensely empathetic nature when expressing the point of view of another person. I may at times appear to be narrow in my view and that is deliberate. Everything has two sides and at times I must choose which side I represent.
Lately I've come to realize that I am operating under some latent form of thought inspired by musicians from my high school days: Jethro Tull (Aqualung and Thick as a Brick) along with The Beatles (Strawberry Fields - "Living is easy with eyes closed; misunderstanding all you see"). The challenges to the status quo were being listened to nightly in a closed bedroom with head phones masking the sounds so I could project the illusion of slumber to my parents. Now... years later I go back and read those lyrics and nod to myself... yes... that's what I think too...
As for being labeled a poet, here is how I feel about that:
I Am A Poet; Not A Performer
What's A Poet To Do?
There are many, many hubbers whom I admire so I am very hesitant to specifically cite anyone in particular for fear of hurting someone else but these two ladies have taken my hand and given me the tools needed to elevate my poetic sense. They have taken the time to provide constructive criticism and to them I am most grateful:
Nellieanna
Petra Vlah
And then there's Maven101... damn! Talk about tough love! But... it's cool and his strong eye always makes me think, "I wonder if Maven will shoot this out of the sky?"
The following hubs of mine have been a "Featured Article" by Hubpages at various times on the main home page and the home pages of Books, Writing and LIterature, Poems and Poetry, and Song Lyrics:
Inspiring Children To Write Poetry
Inside You
Are We Brain Dead?
Her Son Died On The Beach
What Am I Supposed To Believe?
Philadelphia, Mississippi
A Fist Shaken At The Heavens
We Will Begin
So Far Yet So Close
The Pedestal
I Thought You Were My Angel
Are You Alone For Christmas?
A True Story: Is Santa Claus Real?
Don't Put That Sign On Me
The Soul Of A Truck Driver
I Turned To See The Sunset (And All I Saw Was You)
Racism: Should They Get Over It?
Do I Judge The Poor?
A Bullet Feels No Pain
Girls Have a Brain Too
Forbidden Love
What Will You Do With Me?
Leave My Father Alone you Bastard
Hurry Up And Kiss Me
Oh yeah...my name is Mark, and I'm whatever age you wish to ascribe to me. I was born in Tallahassee, Florida. I have two children that I love more than life itself. My Father is from Cuba while my Mother is from Oklahoma. I'm pleased to be able to contribute to Hubpages, and it's always a good feeling to see new followers. I mainly write poems/prose/songs but on occasion give an opinion piece. I hope you can wade through the poetry, but I'm aware it can be tedious for most people. (Not mine! But poetry in general)
For years I played the piano but got the writing bug in 2007 when I wrote this piece because of my frustrations with death and destruction:
Why Do We Have To Sing This Song?
Now I rarely play the piano because writing is in my blood. For many years I spent much of my free-time arguing with people on political chat rooms but I finally "kicked the habit" because 1) nobody ever changed their mind regardless of the evidence against their position and 2) people were cruel and vile to one another.
The good thing about the above is that my personal opinions were challenged and I realized how biased I was in many ways due to my environment. I feel the experience has changed me to be a truth-seeker which is much harder than it sounds. As I see it a truth-seeker is a person who will accept the truth regardless of what it is and is capable of abandoning long-held beliefs when confronted with an alternative view that successfully contradicts the previously held position. In other words it takes an emotionally mature person aka an adult. Is that me? Well, let's just say it's a goal.
I don't read much in the way of poetry... I am trying to be as original as I can be so I don't want to cloud my mind with someone else's style. I spend most of my alone time thinking about things and then challenge myself to express it to others as best as I can.
After spending some time here and interacting with many interesting people I feel compelled to say something about my reference points: I mention the Bible, God, Jesus, etc in many of my pieces. This does not mean I'm preaching or that I am a Christian (not that there is anything wrong with that). They are merely cultural references in many cases used to illustrate a point. I say this only to ask that you not assume anything about my personal beliefs. I'm not evangelizing or attempting to convert anyone to any particular belief. I'm just doing my thinking and my writing.
I've made some traction as of late as a school in Houston (Writers in the Schools) has used some of my poems in a poetry class for elementary school children. I've received some very gratifying words of thanks and praise and best of all, have received copies of poems written by the children using some of my work (mainly the title and theme) as a basis for their efforts.
In April of 2011 I gave a three-hour presentation to approximately 60 fourth graders about poetry at Annunciation Orthodox School (also in Houston) and it went very well. They even swarmed me for my autograph when it was over! This is definitely the coolest thing that has ever happened to me.
All works posted by The Suburban Poet on Hubpages are copyrighted.